8.11.2011

It's hard to believe that Tom Banwell has no formal art training and is largely self taught when you look at his expertly crafted collection of leather and metal Steampunk Gas Masks & Helmets. The masks and helmets are an impressive display of workmanship, complete with mechanical parts, fully wearable and entirely original.

Having dabbled in a variety of media over the years, including batik, woodcarving, mixed media art dolls and leatherworking, creating art in the steampunk genre suits Tom exceedingly well because it combines several of his interests; history, costuming, mechanics and fantasy.

Respirator Gas Masks in black or brown:all images courtesy of the artist.
You can also purchase nicely designed posters of these beautiful creations here at his Zazzle store.

In addition to these stunning gas masks and helmets - which run anywhere from $225 to $4000, Tom makes and sells many different types of hand-crafted leather masks (not just Steampunk) in his online etsy store here.